Inheritanceby Hannie Rayson

VCE Unit 3 EnglishOutcome One: Reading and

RespondingNirvana Rose Watkins Sale College 2008

Key Questions

• What is this rural ‘crisis’ that we keep hearing about?

Key Questions

• To whom does the land belong?– Inter-generationally– Culturally– Small and large scale

“Mate, the land belongs to the people who work it”

- Maureen

Key Questions

• What is the effect of endemic racism of the Hanson era?

Pauline Maureen

“I love…theatre that engages with the political and ethical

forest in which we all lead our lives…”

- Hannie Rayson, The Bulletin, 2002

Structure

• Short-faced paced scenes– Quotations and ideas often linked between scenes

• Centred on family reunion– This is the narrative centrepiece from which all

tension is derived and revolves

• Flashbacks– Whole scenes and within scenes– Ghostly dimensions (eg. Act I, Sc. 20; Act II, Sc. 1)

• First Act ends with a crisis Act II – Maureen’s ascension and the funeral

Symbolism

• Tossed coin = ‘destiny’ vs. ‘duty’ for Dibs and Girlie

Symbolism

• Two sides to Lyle: pigeons and weapons (gun and whip) = gentle vs. violent

Symbolism

• Nugget and Farley’s hat = connection between father and son

Symbolism

• Black dog = a euphemism for depression; a link between Norm Myrtle and Lyle Delaney, and the cyclical patterns within the family

Dramatic Conventions• Flashbacks

– Offer historical perspective– Show repetition of patterns over time (cyclical

continuity)

• Prologue and Epilogue– Romanticising the past– Providing closure?

• Direct address to the audience– Asides, speeches, humour

Dramatic Conventions continued

• Characterisation– Characters embody political views and values

• Language and vernacular– Shows contrasts between characters (eg. Felix

and Lyle)

• Off-stage noises– Eg. ‘Almighty crash’ of Lyle driving into the bank

p.94

• Body language/stage directions• Silence/pauses, ‘beat’: Act I, Sc. 11; Act II,

Sc. 12 = dramatic punctuation

Comic Elements• Raucous jokes

– ‘Donger’ jokes; ‘faggot races’

• Lyle and Nugget’s impotent fight and subsequent joking at funeral: “You’ll keep”

• Graveyard scene– Tragic comedy serves the purpose of both

lightening the load of the tension and reflecting reality more accurately: Life isn’t all melancholia

Themes: Family• Conflict• Secrets• Cycles• Favouritism: winners and losers• ‘Sins of the fathers’

– Norm Dibs and Girlie (suicide, duty)– Farley William, Julia and Nugget (illegitimate)– Lyle Ashleigh and Brianna (suicide)

• Inheritance and entitlement: everyone has a claim• Fate and fortune

Themes: Clash of cultures• City vs. Country• Religious

– Irish Catholic vs. Presbyterian

• Class– Rich vs. Poor

• Racial– Aboriginal, European, Multi-cultural

• Gender– Traditional male vs. female roles

• Sexual– Gay vs. Straight

• Age– Old vs. Young

• Duty vs. Freedom

Themes: More terms• Sub-themes or concerns could also be

described as:– Prejudice and self-interest;– Inheritance (and land)– Duty/Freedom (and Luck/Fortune)– Economy and society– Race and multiculturalism– Outsiders/insiders (favouritism)– Politics and political correctness